W.O.: The Life of W.O. Mitchell. Beginnings to ‘Who Has Seen the Wind’ by Barbara Mitchell, Ormond Mitchell (review)

504 LETTERS IN CANADA '999 novels from The Rebel Angels onwards, is expertly and unobtrusively edited by Judith Skelton Grant, and it is good to learn that a further volume containing his earlier letters is being prepared for publication in the future. As the author of the excellent biography Robertson Davies, Man ofMyth, that appeared in '994, Grant also appears as a prominent - and sometimes equivocal - presence in the text. Davies was initially suspicious of her intrusion into his life, and writes some hard things about her to others; but he converted the experience into art (in both What's Bred in theBoneand The Lyre ofOrpheus, where the problems of biography are important elements within the plot) and eventually writes her a letter in which he acknowledges 'how gently and conSiderately you treated me' - a characteristically generous gesture. Grant handles this potentially embarrassing material with admirable scholarly honesty. The book is espeCially valuable, I think, for demonstrating the nature of Davies' generally playful but seriously intended and morally committed satire. The letters are full of common-sense attitudes to such inflammatory matters as the intellectual limitations of teachers, the prose of the average literary critic, the greed of academic grant-applicants, current sexual fashion, 'Our [Aboriginal] Heritage: the critical bankruptcy of the Governor-General's awards, and many more. In one letter he writes of Peter Ustinov as 'refreshingly free from political correctness: and the remark applies just as well to himself. Those with a respect for political correctness do not like Davies' work; that is why he is so important. (W.J. KEITH) Barbara Mitchell and Ormond Mitchell. W.O.: TIle Life afW.O. Mitchell. Beginnings 10 'Who Has Seen Ihe Wind' McClelland and Stewart. xii, 4'2. $37.50 The only Canadian author known to millions by his first two initials, W.O. Mitchell was nearly as well known for his charismatic personality as he was for his writings. In this first volume of a projected two-volume biography, Mitchell's son and daughter-in-law probe beneath his public persona to uncover a more introspective portrait of the man and the writer. They present W.O. through a number of voices: their own shared critical voice; Mitchell's voice, presented through excerpts from over sixty hours of interviews; the voices of Mitchell's wife, children, brother, and acquaintances ; and a 'memoir voice' appearing intermittently throughout the text in italics to indicate the biographers' remembered personal experiences. Mitchell's own voice predominates, not only through interviews, but through his fiction and drama, which are frequently used 'as a kind of wrecking yard from which bits and pieces of his autobiographical experience have been salvaged.' HUMANITIES 505 The biographers' intimate relationship with their subject can have advantages and disadvantages. Givin g Mitchell so much free rein in telling his own story may appear risky for those concerned about the border between fact and fiction. Some of his humorous memories quoted from family interviews are no doubt apocryphal. But a deeper reality emerges from his personal version of events: Mitchell's self-construction from his childhood memories demonstrates the same creative process employed to construct his fictional stories. From their dual perspectives as the family of an author ofbestsellers and as university professors, the Mitchells had the difficult task of choosing their intended audience. Like Mitchell himself, who tried to bridge the gap between serious literature and popular culture, they have geared this biography to both the literary scholar and the popular audience of Mitchell's loyal readers. Their clear prose, thorough but unobtrusive documentation, and choice of Mitchell's own publisher, McClelland and Stewart, signify their effort to make this biography accessible to a wide range of readers. How exactly do the Mitchells succeed in satisfying two very different audiences? The picture that emerges of Mitchell's family and personal life will fascinate the legions of fans who have made his books bestsellers. We learn about his difficult relationship with his domineering mother, who appears self-centred, stingy, and pretentious, and his warm relationship with his grandmother Murray who was partly responsible for his Rabelaisian streak. As a young man during the Depression, his efforts to find steady employment...